It is said that children learn foreign languages more easily than adults. This is true, but it does not mean that adults cannot learn a foreign language successfully. Here are the secrets to learn a new language (7 basic principles) shared by the professional multilingual translators for TEDxTalks program.
- Be realistic
Set a simple goal which is suitable for your ability to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Judith Matz - a German translator advises: "Let pick up 50 words and use them to communicate with other people - and then gradually pick up the appropriate grammar.
- Make foreign languages learning become your lifestyle
Ms. Elisabeth Buffard, an English teacher with 27 years of experience, always evaluates that persistence is a factor helping many students to be more successful than others. Therefore, let look for a language learning habit that you can observe even when being tired, ill, madly in love.
- “Invite” new language into your houses
The more you contact with a foreign language in daily life, the more your brains admit this activity as an useful and worthy action. Russian translator, Olga Dmitrochenkova, shared, "You should take every opportunity to be immersed in a new language." Here are a few suggestions for you: labeling (in the language you are learning) every object in your houses, reading children's books written in that language, watching videos with subtitles of TED and TEDxtalks, or retelling what happened during the day with a foreign friend in your imagination.
- Let technology be your assistant
Dmitrochenkova has a great idea: "A funny manipulation like changing the language used in your phone can help you learn new words very effectively” and it is similar to the language replacement for your computer browser. Besides, you can learn in more formal way through online classes. A Dutchman translator - De Keyser - suggested that Duolinguo website helps you learn while playing with grammar exercises “transferring into games," or Anki website helps you memorize vocabulary with the smart word cards.
- Think about each foreign language is a gateway opening new lands
To Spanish translator Sebastian Betti, learning a new language always goes with the experiences brung from the culture of that language: visiting the amusement park, attending the exhibition aircraft, enjoying cowboy literature and the folk-rock music festival, learning more about photographic storytelling technique.” In other words, let think about the experiences you want to have and turn it into motivation for studying. You're looking for carrot cake recipes for the only website posting those recipes is written in English? So English learning opportunity is already in your interests!
- Make friends with foreigners
Communicating in foreign languages is an important secret for you to express your thoughts fluently without spending all the gray matter on translating word by word, sentence by sentence before speaking a word. Let be familiar with the native speakers near your living places, or surf the internet to look for foreign friends learning your mother tongue language. Both of you can become the two friends helping each other to practice the language that the others need to learn.
- Talk to the little friends
If you are reluctant to communicate with people of the same age, talking with to children who are native speakers will be a great solution for you. Judith Matz translator recollected, "I was very excited to sit and chat with a new Italian toddler, and then I realized our Italian were exactly the same." When talking with babies, you are practicing to be more patient, and you have to try to speak properly and simply as much as possible so that those babies can understand what you want to say.
A wise way to learn a foreign language is to refer the experiences of those who have already been successful in that language. Hopefully, these secrets above will be a useful baggage for you on the way to explore your own language and knowledge!
Translated by Bui Thi Chi
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